We’re now a week away from the official launch of Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, and developer Beenox has detailed its plans for the title’s post-launch content.
This post-launch content comes in the form of the themed seasonal challenges known as the free CTR Nitro-Fueled Grand Prix, which are a set of challenges made available to anyone who has purchased the game. Each Grand Prix itself, aside form various rewards to win, includes an additional track at the start of each season, all made available to play both in online and local multiplayer. You won’t have to wait long for the first Grand Prix either, as the first of these seasons – called the Nitro Tour Grand Prix – will be made available this July 3, which is less than two weeks after the game’s official launch on June 21.
Here are some of the new content you can expect from these Grand Prix events, detailed on the PlayStation Blog.
- Commentators – if you’re wondering what’s the best way to find out more about each new season of CTR Nitro-Fueled Grand Prix, then wonder no further. Just tune in to CTR TV, the CTR news channel which can be found in-game, to hear it straight from the beaks of Chick Gizzard Lips and his co-host Stew. Both are known as the ace rooster commentators for CTR TV, returning from their stint on Crash Tag Team Racing to settle into their new roles as the hosts for each new season of content.
- Grand Prix – The Grand Prix is a themed season, with its challenges all constructed around a newly-themed track. Completing challenges will earn you Nitro Points, which act like Experience Points. Completing more challenges fills up the Nitro Gauges, and at certain levels you earn various rewards, including new characters, karts, skins and kart customization items. The Nitro Gauge is easily visible in-game, and shows how far you’ve progressed with each Grand Prix. Of course for online players, a global leaderboard will also be included for every Grand Prix season, giving the very best players at the top special in-game reward items.
- Wumpa Coins and the Pit Stop – Aside from the various rewards you earn from filling the Nitro Gauge, you can also earn Wumpa Coins by participating in the various Grand Prix challenges. Wumpa Coins are used to redeem special items in Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled’s Pit Stop, which is the game’s in-game store for items like characters, kart sets, wheels, paint jobs, decals, stickers and skins.
Now that we’ve seen just what the Grand Prix is all about, it’s time to take a look at the first ever seasonal Grand Prix for Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled – the Nitro Tour. The Nitro Tour Grand Prix features a track called the Twilight Tour, a reimagining of the Ancient Egyptian and Arabian Town levels from Crash Bandicoot: Warped.
For this first Grand Prix, say hello to Tawna the Bandicoot, the first playable character you can earn in the Twilight Tour. You can also earn her special in-game skin, called Motorsport Tawna. Tawna was, of course, first introduced in the original Crash Bandicoot, where the game’s goal is to rescue her from the clutches of Neo Cortex.
In addition to Tawna, you can also play for more challenges and be rewarded with Ami, Isabella, Megumi and Liz, who, along with Tawna, are collectively known as the Nitro Squad. Original players of Crash Team Racing will know them with as the Trophy Girls for that game, and you can unlock the rest of the squad by using Wumpa Coins in the Pit Stop for the duration of the first Grand Prix.
In addition to this new cast of characters, you will see new items being made part of the first Grand Prix, including international-themed items for players worldwide to show their national pride, brand-new parts for karts, and the return of the Le Chaux, a fan-favorite kart from Crash Tag Team Racing.
It’s important to stay ahead in this race, so be sure that once the update drops on July 3, you’re already on your way to beating challenges in the Grand Prix to fill up that Nitro Gauge, while earning more Wumpa Coins to spend on those new items within the Pit Stop.
If you want a teaser of what’s to come for the next seasons of the Grand Prix, check out the content roadmap below for a look.
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled will be released on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch on June 21. The first Grand Prix, Nitro Tour, will be arriving two weeks after, on July 3.
